The Plaza, New York

A second, grander Plaza

A first Plaza Hotel stood on the same site from 1890, but it was soon considered too small. Developers replaced it with a much larger building designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, the architect of the Dakota apartments. The new Plaza opened on 1 October 1907, about 27 months after work began.

The 18-storey building, with its white facade, steep green copper roofs and turrets, was inspired by French Renaissance châteaux. It cost about 12.5 million dollars and had around 800 rooms.

Where it stands

The Plaza sits at 768 Fifth Avenue, at the corner of Central Park South, facing the southeast corner of Central Park and the Pulitzer Fountain. Its position on the edge of the park has made it a backdrop for countless photographs and films.

On the ground floor are famous rooms such as the Palm Court, known for afternoon tea under a glass ceiling, and the Oak Room and Oak Bar, with their dark wood panelling.

Hardenbergh gave the hotel a pale facade topped by steep mansard roofs, dormer windows and corner turrets, a style meant to suggest a grand French country house rising above the city streets. Inside, the high public rooms on the ground floor and the ballrooms were designed so the hotel could host large balls, weddings and dinners as well as overnight guests.

Eloise and the movies

The Plaza is the home of Eloise, the mischievous six-year-old in Kay Thompson's children's books, first published in 1955. Thompson lived at the hotel, and the books were so popular that a portrait of Eloise was hung in the lobby.

The hotel has appeared in many films, including North by Northwest, Crocodile Dundee, Sleepless in Seattle and Home Alone 2. The Plaza was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Hotel and homes

In the 2000s the building was renovated and partly converted into private residences. It reopened on 1 March 2008 with 282 hotel rooms and 181 condominium homes.

New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission protects the exterior and several interior spaces, so key rooms keep their historic look. Many visitors see the Plaza simply by stopping for tea or walking through the lobby.

← Raffles SingaporeBiltmore Estate →